


Rumour has it

by Fox_In_A_Box



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: As much as it can be in 1800 London, Established Relationship, Introspection, M/M, Office Romance, One Shot, So much italics wow, Teasing, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-21 11:09:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17042612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fox_In_A_Box/pseuds/Fox_In_A_Box
Summary: "Rumours?""Yes," Ronald went on. "And terrible stuff, at that. Supervisors taking advantage of their subordinates, abusing of their position to have them do whatever they want. I know the people down at human resources tend to exaggerate sometimes, but one can't help but wonder."The corner of his mouth twitched into a little smile, which was promptly concealed by the rim of his glass once he raised it to take a sip.[Prompt #33: "I'd like to see you try."]





	Rumour has it

**Author's Note:**

> I do love the manga's anachronistic approach, but here I tried for a more """accurate""" Victorian feel, as I'm a sucker for decadent Victorian atmospheres. Hope you enjoy!

Despite the late hour, no one spared a glance towards the two gentlemen occupying a small table at the far corner of the pub. Not even the barmaid, too busy collecting cups and bottles from empty tables and tidying up the shelves in preparation for the following day. Reapers, as it were, were exceedingly good at not being noticed when they had no desire to.

 

"I heard some rumours..." the youngest of the two was saying, as he poured himself another glass of bourbon.

 

"Rumours?" The other repeated, one eyebrow raised in a perplexed expression.

 

"Yes," Ronald went on. "And terrible stuff, at that. Supervisors taking advantage of their subordinates, abusing of their position to have them do whatever they want. I know the people down at human resources tend to exaggerate sometimes, but one can't help but wonder."

 

The corner of his mouth twitched into a little smile, which was promptly concealed by the rim of his glass once he raised it to take a sip. William's own glass lay half-full in front of him, much to Ronald's disappointment. Oh, he would have loved to see him lose some of his usual composure, shed his inhibitions for once and talk freely about something that wasn't their job and how lazy and irritating some of their colleagues were. In all the years they had known each other, Ronald had never seen him drunk - not even slightly tipsy, for that matter.

 

"And nothing about young employees seducing their superiors in the hopes of receiving some kind of favouritism?"

 

"Is this an accusation, sir?"

 

"I'm just curious," William answered, making a brief gesture with his hand as to dismiss the subject. "Don't flatter yourself too much."

 

There was a short pause, then he added: "And if for some reason you should feel like attempting something similar, let me remind you that I can make your life very unpleasant, Mr. Knox."

 

The last two words sounded so out of place uttered in the dimly-lit room of an empty pub.

He wasn't 'Mr. Knox' to him since quite some time - a couple of decades, give or take. He was 'Ronald', most of the times, and in some rare and amusing occasions he was 'darling', which was always spoken through gritted teeth and with no shortage of sarcasm.

 

'Mr. Knox' was reserved for specific circumstances; either they were at work, and William had been unyielding in his decision to maintain some semblance of professionality, or he was trying to dissuade Ronald from doing something incredibly stupid. Given the conspicuous absence of paperwork and wandering souls to collect, and the fact that the context didn't leave Ronald much space for reckless actions, it seemed sensible to believe he had something else in mind, this time around.

 

Was he teasing him? It was so unlike him, and yet he couldn't help but find the thought entertaining. Well, two could play at the same game. Instead of scrambling to find an excuse for his disrespectful behaviour in the hopes of escaping the punishment his superior had in store for him, Ronald grinned.

 

"I'd like to see you try," he said, raising his glass in a mock-toasting gesture.

 

There he was, walking on the edge for the unique pleasure of seeing just how far he could push his luck before having to deal with the consequences. Which were usually as unpleasant as they had been advertised - William was a man of his word, he had to give him that. Still, stacks of paperwork and hours of overtime hadn't yet discouraged him from trying again, and again and again.

 

William didn't look impressed by his irreverence. When Ronald was about to reach for the bottle once more, he moved quicker and snatched it from his hand. He then set it out of his reach, on his own side of the table, before declaring: "I think you've had enough for tonight. I'll walk you home."

 

It was an excuse, they both knew it full well, but Ronald decided to play along.

"Really? Will you do me the honour?" He asked, unable to conceal the small chuckle that escaped him, when he saw the other reaper roll his eyes.

 

William always had to find an excuse to allow himself to spend more time in his company. _You're drunk, let me walk you home_ , and _I asked your assistance to complete this task only because all of our colleagues where busy elsewhere_ and _You've been bugging me for days, Ronald, I accepted your offer only so I could finish my paperwork in peace_ were all justifications he had heard several times since they had started what he was still hesitant to call 'a relationship'.

 

Ronald didn't mind it much. If that was his way of justifying having a soft spot for his subordinate to himself, who was he to complain about it?

 

He didn't miss how William's hand lingered on his shoulder for a few seconds more than strictly necessary when, not much time later, they walked out of the building and into the streets. No matter how much alcohol he had downed, the freezing winter air found a way to bite at his skin even through layers and layers of clothing. He shivered, grateful that he at least had had the foresight to bring his gloves.

 

He remembered how disappointed he had been to discover that reapers could still feel cold, and hunger, and pain and all kinds of annoying sensations in spite of their nature. But then again, feel desire and excitement too. It wasn't a bad bargain, after all.

 

London was always busy, at night as much as during the day. Maybe not as much as it was before, after the Ripper shook the hearts of its citizens with his gruesome deeds, prompting even the bravest of them to leave the streets and find refuge in their houses as soon as the sun started to set. Little by little, however, the city was starting to recover and regain some of her former splendour, with noble men and women attending theatre performances in their best attire and middle-class workers crowding the pubs once more.

 

"I've always liked London at night," Ronald mused.

 

"I can't say I understand your fascination," William replied. "But it's fitting for a hedonist like you, I suppose."

 

Ronald smirked, taking the chance presented by a carriage rushing past them to inch closer to him. "I'll take it as a compliment."

 

"I never said it wasn't."

 

William didn't back away. In fact, he hardly reacted, prompting Ronald to move even closer, brushing his shoulder against his.

 

It was a strange dance the one they performed each day at work, William casting disapproving glances in his general direction every time he caught him making the smallest mistake and Ronald always doing his best to play up his impulsive nature, much to the annoyance of his superior. And then there were hands touching almost by accident when exchanging a report, William fixing the loose knot of Ronald's tie when no-one was looking, and casually invading each other's personal space when arguing over whatever had brought them to disagree.

 

Ever the thrill-seeker - in his former life as much as in his current one - it was only natural that he should go chasing the most difficult prize, forgetting about his collection of easier conquests in the moment they didn't pose a challenge anymore. And maybe William was playing a game of his own, seeing how long it would take to finally bring the unruly young subordinate to heel. He smiled to himself at the implications, earning a strange look from the older reaper. Ronald shrugged in response and they kept walking side by side.

 

They passed by the entrance of a small theatre, with a crowd of spectators waiting for their coaches by the sidewalk and animatedly discussing the performance. Ronald overheard a young lady praising the talents of the lead actor, prompting amused giggles from her friends and at least one disapproving glance from an older couple standing nearby.

 

"Old people and their obsession with respectability," he chuckled. "Could you believe my father wanted me to become an accountant? I spent so many days at his desk trying to make sense of endless strings of numbers instead of living my life."

 

"So now that you're free from your family's expectations you let yourself fall victim of every earthly pleasure you set your eyes upon?"

 

"On the contrary, I _choose_ to indulge in them precisely because I couldn't in the past. I'm not wasting my second chance."

 

William shook his head, an amused look crossing his features for a split second. "I can resist anything except temptations."

 

Ronald blinked, unsure of what he meant with that remark. "Uh?"

 

"Speaking of pleasures, have you ever read Wilde? 'The Picture of Dorian Gray', perhaps?"

 

"Not really," he was forced to admit.

 

"It's a pity. While I don't approve of its message, I couldn't help but find Wilde's prose fascinating. I'm sure you'd enjoy it."

 

"Well, it's not like I have much time for myself, lately," feeling reckless, he added: "I wonder whose fault is that."

 

Alright, maybe he was exaggerating. After all, he did have plenty of time to strike a chat with his lady friends at human resources and share a drink with his old friend Alan when their schedules happened to match up; he could have surely saved an hour or two to do some reading if he had had any desire to. The point was, he had never been a man of literary taste. He found theatre to be more suited for telling amazing stories, creating vivid atmospheres and showcasing interesting characters than printed words.

 

"You'll find the secret lies in good organisation," William said, ignoring his last remark. "You can make the best of your time once you learn to use it properly."

 

This time, Ronald wasn't able to think of an appropriate comeback and had to settle - not without some frustration - for letting the other reaper have the last word.

 

Somewhere, a bell struck midnight.

They walked on.

 

 

*****

 

 

"Patience."

 

Ronald let out a sound halfway between a groan and a huff. The tell-tale shadow of a smile appeared at the corner of William's mouth as his eyes settled on him.

 

"Good things come to those who wait, is it?" Ronald said, parroting back the phrase he had heard oh so many times uttered by his supervisor. "I think I've already waited enough."

 

He did have a point.

 

William had been keeping his distance all evening, shrugging off each attempt the younger reaper had made at coaxing a smile out of him; which was a contradiction in itself, since stopping for a drink after work had been his idea, for once. An offer so sudden and unexpected that Ronald had dropped the papers he was holding and had been forced to hurry to pick them up and rearrange them neatly on his desk before William could have a second thought about it.

 

It had taken three hours, Ronald had checked on his expensive wrist watch, before a silent exchange of    could lead them where they were now - standing by the door of Ronald's house, so close they could almost touch and yet, as far as the younger reaper was concerned, still way too far from each other.

 

"A man your age and you still have so much to learn about manners," his condescending tone sounded somewhat different, devoid of the usual sarcastic edge that always made Ronald so eager to back-talk, even at the risk of infuriating him.

 

And he would have laughed at the remark, if William hadn't chosen that precise moment

to move closer and finally, finally kiss him.

 

He wasn't in his element, and it showed. Always hesitant, at first, as if he struggled to let go of his composure and lower himself to showing the signs of something so disgustingly /human/ as love. Which didn't discourage Ronald from kissing him back rather enthusiastically, his fingers treading in his dark hair and taking immense satisfaction in letting a few strands fall loose. He lost count of how many times they broke apart only for one of them to lean in again.

 

"Stay for the night," he breathed suddenly, all of his smoothness forgotten in the pleasant haze of alcohol and lust that clouded his mind.

 

"And give in so easily? I wonder what opinion you have of me, Ronald." William murmured, leaving another brief kiss at the corner of his mouth. "Besides, it just wouldn't do to fuel those horrible rumours you told me about."

 

"Oh, _come on_ , you know I was teasing you!"

 

It was all in vain.

 

In the blink of an eye, William adjusted his glasses and fixed his clothes, regaining his prim and proper demeanour as if nothing had happened. As if he hadn't just kissed one of his employees against the door of his own house until the both of them struggled to catch their breath, as if he hadn't brushed his fingers against the back of his neck, making Ronald shiver under his touch and want more, and want it so bad that it almost _hurt._

 

"I suggest you to get a good night's sleep, Mr. Knox. We have work to do, tomorrow."

 

And he was gone. Turned his back and disappeared into the night, leaving him alone with his back leaning against the door.

 

Ronald silently cursed himself. He should have seen it coming. Who claimed William didn't have a sense of humour only demonstrated they didn't know him at all; his humour was sharp and cruel, and Ronald had had more than one occasion to experience it first-hand. Despite himself, Ronald always found it extremely amusing; he didn't know what it said about him, but he was sure Grell would have had many words to spare on the matter.

 

He ran a hand through his hair, chest heaving with his ragged breaths.

 

True to his word, William seemed dead set on making his life _bloody damn difficult_. Then again, Ronald wouldn't have it any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt from http://mymiscfandomimagines.tumblr.com/post/165227911567/drabble-list-2


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